Headswim, by all accounts, should have been huge. Their 1994 debut, Flood, was released via the Sony imprint, Epic, and received solid reviews; while attendant single, Crawl, made it into the charts. However, following a major tour, the band went on hiatus when Matthew – Dan and Tom’s brother and the band’s artist – tragically passed away. It would not be until 1997 that the band would re-emerge, with the severely underrated Despite Yourself. Yet, despite a number of great reviews, the musical landscape had shifted during the band’s absence, and the album did not live up to the lofty expectations of the label. As a result, and like so many others before them, Headswim found themselves summarily dropped, and their in-production third album was shelved.
While the band’s members would go on to other projects, it looked very much like Headswim were done, only for boutique label Trapped Animal to announce a surprise reissue of Flood, complete with outtakes and radio session material. It was a fantastic reissue, beautifully done, and a fitting reminder of the band’s sadly untapped potential. In consequence, Headswim reformed for a one-off gig at Camden’s Underworld, a landmark event that was met with rabid enthusiasm, and which was thankfully recorded for posterity.
The Package
Trapped Animal have once again turned up trumps and put together a gorgeous souvenir package. Pressed onto heavy weight red vinyl (a black variant and CD versions are also available), this double-disc live set is housed in a gatefold cover complete with liner notes setting the context and a handful of images from the show. It’s pretty much the perfect package, with the only aspect that could be improved being the absence of a booklet with additional images. However, for fans of the band, this is a package which, like the album reissue, has clearly been put together with love and care by actual fans of the band – no common occurrence in this fickle industry.
The Album
The trend towards bands performing albums in their entirety is a bit of a double-edged sword in the live arena. On the one hand, fans get to hear a much-loved album in its entirety and in the correct sequence – certainly a boon when it comes to the likes of Dark Side Of The Moon. On the other hand, that instinctive rush that comes from a band launching into an unexpected track is absent, removing some of the spontaneity of the live experience. However, when it comes to live recordings, where the setlist is already proudly printed on the reverse, no such qualms exist. For Headswim, of course, the decision was certainly encouraged by the paucity of recorded material the band left behind upon their dissolution – just two well-received albums – and the fact that the sole purpose of the gig was to celebrate the reissue of the remarkable Flood.
Side 1
Judging by the cheers that greet opener Gone To Pot, it’s clear that the audience were well up for the night and, as the band unleash the grinding riff that kicks the song into gear, it’s hard not to feel that rush all over again. Interestingly, if anything, the intervening years have given the band a tougher edge, the tightly wound riff reminiscent of Tool, while Daniel’s vocals are grittier than I remember. Better still, the production of this live set is outstanding, with the band given considerable clarity and heft (not always a given with live recordings), and something greatly aided by the involvement of Andy Shillito (the band’s original sound engineer), who brings the set vividly to life. The whiplash riff of Soup detonates next, with Nick Watts’ keys taking a prominent place in the mix and the band delivering a ferocious performance. A cracking single, Soup alone should have made the band huge at point of impact, and it positively seethes here. If the rippling Try Disappointed doesn’t quite have the urgency of the preceding numbers, it paves the way for the gorgeous Crawl, which serves as one of the album’s best vocal showcases, the band deftly moving from the doom-laden opening bars to expansive chorus and back.
Side 2
With the temperature in the venue apparently reaching boiling point, the art rock scree of Years On Me, with Clovis Taylor’s restless bassline and tense dynamics, does little to cool things down. Again, it’s hard to know what to focus on first – the brilliantly vivid guitars? Daniel’s pitch perfect vocals? the psyche-tinged mid-section, with its deft tempo changes and organ flourishes? It’s all awesome, and it’s somewhat baffling that the band aren’t filling arenas, given that strength of their material and performance. Finally taking pity on the sweltering audience, the band allow for a moment of respite with the stripped-down Dead, a lovely track given even greater weight in the live environment. The band showcase a progressive sense of dynamics on the dark Apple Of My Eye, which did much to anticipate the lurching intensity of A Perfect Circle, only for Nick to drag the whole thing into hell’s own carnival with his swirling keys. The second side is rounded out with the brutal Down. Already a killer cut on the parent album, here it positively seethes, the band delivering a manic performance rife with paranoia.
Side 3
Side three opens with the airy Stinkhorn, which emerges (and to a huge cheer) out of a wave of Pink Floyd ambience, the band teasing the intro to a huge cheer, before the whole thing detonates. With its sanguine bass line, Safe Harvest takes in a darker aspect that sees the melodic verse and soaring chorus give way to weightier riffs as the track progresses. In contrast, Beneath A Black Moon has a Jeff Buckley vibe that rounds out the main set nicely.
Side 4
The set concludes with a generous encore showing off the best of the tragically underrated Despite Yourself. The band kick things off with Devil In My Palm, a subtle, ever-shifting piece that mixes Sonic Youth, Radiohead, and VAST to thrilling effect. Next up, Tourniquet reminds us just how great that chorus is, and it sounds even more stunning in its live incarnation. It leaves the taut rocker Hype to see things out, with its sarcastic lyric and repeated refrain of “the hype is as high as an elephant’s eye”. It marks the end of an exceptional set, making you wish, wish, wish that Headswim would consider just a little more activity, given the overwhelming response this show received.
Final Thoughts
God, what a night it must have been!
Whether you were present for Headswim’s one-off showing, or merely wish you had been, this live set is absolutely essential. Beautifully pressed with liner notes, images from the night, and some of the best live sound you’ll hear, it’s obvious that an incredible amount of care has gone into this release, and it’s simply unthinkable that any Headswim fan would let this pass them by. With the band turning in a faultless performance, these remarkable songs really come alive, and we can only hope that the enthusiasm of the reaction might stir something within these talented musicians, because their absence remains a painful one. 10/10
